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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HELENA – The Helena Huskies sent off their senior trio of Jaterrica Moody, Mallory Rhodes and Destiny Brashears with a bang as they secured two victories on back-to-back nights in their final home games at Helena High School before going on the road to take down the Oak Mountain Eagles.

Helena defeated the Northridge Jaguars 47-34 on Monday, Jan. 27 before beating the Chilton County Tigers 61-23 on senior night on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at Helena High School. The team then finished out the week with a 43-33 win over Oak Mountain on Thursday, Jan. 30 at Oak Mountain High School.

In the first game of the week against Northridge, the Huskies came out on the right side of a low-scoring first-quarter thanks to 3-pointers from Hannah Satterfield and Isabel Heintz.

Helena earned an 8-4 lead going into the second quarter and only grew that as the offense started hitting more shots.

Amari Grant took over in the second with seven points to add to her two from the first quarter while Gracelyn Ambrose had four second-quarter points off a pair of field goals.

Combined with baskets from Satterfield and Moody and a free throw from Brashears, the Huskies dropped 16 points in the second to counter a pair of Jags 3-pointers and take a 24-12 lead into the halftime locker room.

Helena continued to outpace Northridge on offense thanks to four more points from Heintz and Satterfield’s second 3-pointer of the evening. The Huskies held Northridge to just five points in the third quarter to extend the lead to 35-17 ahead of the fourth quarter.

From there, Moody took over in the fourth quarter, scoring nine of the Huskies’ 12 points in the final eight minutes after scoring just two in the previous 24 minutes.

The Jags outscored Helena in the fourth quarter, but Moody’s scoring effort meant they couldn’t close the gap as the Huskies took the 13-point win.

Moody scored 11 points and Satterfield joined her in double figures with 10 points. Grant earned nine points, Heintz finished with eight points and Ambrose secured six points.

That next night on senior night, Helena improved on its performance from Monday and got off to a fast start on both ends of the floor.

After surrendering just five points in the first quarter, six different Huskies combined for 15 points in the first as Satterfield and Rhodes each hit a 3-pointer.

After Helena took a 15-5 lead into the second quarter, the Huskies’ offensive scoring pace slowed down as they became more reliant on shots from inside the arc. However, they allowed only six points in the second and two field goals total, which increased the halftime lead to 23-11.

Helena rediscovered its 3-point shooting form in the third quarter to begin pulling away even more for the win. Satterfield, Heintz, Lauren Smith and Madz Blumstein each knocked down a shot from long range while Brashears led the way with six points to get into double figures.

The Huskies outscored Chilton County 21-8 in the third quarter and took a 44-19 lead into the fourth quarter of play.

Helena’s offense continued scoring down the stretch as Moody and Grant closed out their nights with multiple baskets in the fourth. Six different Huskies combined for 17 points to put the finishing touches on a 38-point win to close out their home regular season slate.

Destiny Brashears led the team in scoring on her senior night with 10 points. Grant had nine points while Satterfield and Moody each scored eight points. Heintz, Smith and Rhodes earned five points apiece and Macie Brashears finished with four points.

That left the Huskies with just one game to finish out the regular season: a road trip to Oak Mountain to face the Eagles on Thursday, Jan. 30.

Like the Chilton County game, Helena started out strong on offense as Moody scored five points and Heintz knocked down one of her two 3-pointers in the first.

However, unlike their two earlier games that week, Oak Mountain got multiple shots to fall in the opening quarter. Caroline Kester led the way with five points while Joy Damron hit a 3-pointer during the first eight minutes.

The Huskies went into the second quarter with a slim 14-11 lead and continued to outpace the Eagles in the second quarter.

This time, it was Rhodes who picked up the scoring mantle, scoring five points in the second after missing a pair of shots in the first quarter. Helena outscored Oak Mountain 7-3 in a low-scoring second quarter to go to the halftime locker room with a 21-14 advantage.

The Huskies defense continued to operate at a high level in the third quarter and allowed just three points for the second-straight quarter, except now, they took advantage on the offensive end.

Satterfield scored seven points in the third after attempting just one shot in the first half while Ambrose and Rhodes each had four points during that stretch, with Rhodes hitting the lone 3-pointer of the third quarter.

As a result, Helena went into the fourth quarter with a 36-17 lead. However, the Eagles wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Damron and Nylah Cook spearheaded a strong final stand from Oak Mountain with five and four points, respectively, in the fourth quarter. Kester, Zy Walker and Jillian Lind joined them to combine for 16 points as a team.

That put more pressure on the Huskies in the final minutes, but a Heintz 3-pointer and free throws from Rhodes and Moody helped them walk away with the 10-point win.

Rhodes led Helena with 11 points, Heintz scored eight points, Satterfield and Moody each had seven points and Rhodes and Grant finished with four points each.

As for the Eagles, Damron scored eight points, Kester had seven points, Sophie Hammett earned six points and Cook and Walker each secured four points in the loss.

The Huskies finished the regular season with a 17-10 record and will face the Pelham Panthers in the Class 6A, Area 8 semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 4:30 p.m. at Chelsea High School.

Oak Mountain enters the area tournament with a 6-23 record and will go for its first area win of the year in the Class 7A, Area 5 semifinals against Hoover on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 3 p.m. at Hoover High School.